Yoga
What is it?
Kundalini yoga is an ancient yoga practice from traditional India. It usually involves a combination of controlled breathing, meditation, and physical body movements or postures..
Kundalini yoga has been used for a type of anxiety marked by recurrent thoughts and repetitive behaviors (obsessive-compulsive disorder or OCD), depression, and many other conditions, but there is no good scientific evidence to support most of these uses.
Possibly Effective for …
- A type of anxiety marked by recurrent thoughts and repetitive behaviors (obsessive-compulsive disorder or OCD). Practicing Kundalini yoga might improve symptoms of OCD and reduce the need for medicine. It seems to be more effective than practicing relaxation and mindfulness meditation. But this evidence is generally low-quality, so higher quality research is needed to confirm.
Possibly Ineffective for …
- High blood pressure. Practicing Kundalini yoga does not seem to lower blood pressure in people with high blood pressure.
Insufficient Evidence to Make a Determination for …
- Memory and thinking skills (cognitive function). Practicing a specific type of Kundalini yoga that involves one nostril breathing might improve memory and thinking skills.
- Decline in memory and thinking skills in older people that is more than what is normal for their age. Practicing Kundalini yoga seems to improve memory and thinking skills in people with mild age-related memory decline about as well as a memory enhancement training program.
- Depression. Early research shows that practicing Kundalini yoga may improve symptoms of depression.
- Other conditions.
More evidence is needed to rate Kundalini yoga for these uses.
Special Precautions & Warnings:
Pregnancy and breast-feeding: There isn’t enough reliable information to know if Kundalini yoga is safe to practice when pregnant or breast-feeding. Until more is known, avoid using.
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